1:72 Aermacchi MB-339 canopy airbrush mask

The Aermacchi MB-339 and its service

The two-seat MB-339 jet trainer first flew in August 1976 as the direct successor of the successful MB-326. The Italian Air Force put it into advanced pilot training, and the armed version derived from it could also manage light strikes on ground targets. In its PAN finish it still serves the Frecce Tricolori aerobatic team today. Argentine naval aviation committed MB-339A machines in 1982 in the fighting over the Falklands, where they operated straight from the airfield at Port Stanley.

Set contents

These are die-cut self-adhesive pieces used to cover the canopy and the windscreen before spraying. The shape of each piece matches one pane of the glazing, so the frames come out with a sharp edge and you do not have to cut them laboriously from tape. The material holds on plastic and on a painted surface and leaves no adhesive behind when peeled off.

How to work with the mask

First free the clear part of grease and let it dry completely. Transfer the masks with pointed tweezers or a toothpick, press them down from the center toward the edges and cover the rest of the model with ordinary tape. Lay the paint on in several light coats; a heavy coat will run under the edge. Take them off shortly after the paint has dried, while the paint film is still flexible.

Who the set will save some nerves

At small scales builders most often complain that their frames come out unevenly wide and that a narrow strip of tape breaks when bent. A die-cut shape removes that uncertainty and the result looks consistent over the whole cockpit, whether this is your first model or your fiftieth.

Neither the aircraft nor its clear parts are included in the package; the set serves solely for painting a cockpit that has already been built.